There’s a patch of tall yellow wild flowers under the oak tree in my Spring Garden. My Dad would call them weeds.
I think they are Lapsana communis… commonly known as Nipplewort and once used as a herbal remedy for breast ulcers.
The centre of each tiny flower is loaded with pollen and Hoverflies simply love them. They are common in woods, hedges and fields throughout the UK, Europe and Asia and their leaves are edible… a bit like lettuce apparently.
Nipplewort flowers open in sunshine to reveal their beautiful yellow petals then close again in the shade. If you don’t want these weeds/wildflowers in your garden they are easy to remove . Simply pull the whole plant out of moist ground before they set seed.
I need to do a bit of tidying and weeding so I’m cutting some for a vase of wild flowers today.
Happy Gardening. 